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Monthly Archives: January 2017

It’s crazy, this is definitely going to be my last weekly photo. I hope you’ve enjoyed them! :)

How far along? 41 WeeksTotal weight gain/loss? +30.4 lbs; I’m still packing on the pounds. Hopefully baby isn’t following suit!Maternity clothes? Yup! And lots of PJs.Stretch marks? Still not seeing any.Sleep? Yup, still sleeping. Waking up once around 4:30 or 5am, but sleeping pretty well!Best moment this week? I worked from home this week, so it was a pretty quiet week for me without much human interaction. Rather boring, actually. The best moment for me was probably my second appointment with my midwife on Friday. I went on both Tuesday and Friday and had a Non-Stress Test and had an Ultrasound to measure my fluid levels around the baby. On Tuesday, the fluid levels were a little low, even though the NST was good. They told me to hydrate really well and hope that the fluid looked better on Friday. I followed directions and it did look better, which was great to hear. I really do NOT want to be induced. That said, I did feel water logged all week. :)Miss Anything? I’m missing seeing people during the day. It’s really boring being home alone. I’m also still missing sleeping on my back!Movement? I feel like the baby has been moving around less the last couple of week, but I don’t think it’s actually that it’s moving less, I think they’re just smaller, more subtle movements. There really isn’t much room left in there.Food cravings? I don’t want to eat anything. Except all the sweets. But even those are becoming less interesting.Anything making you nauseous? Food. Eating it. Smelling it. Thinking about it. No food, please.Symptoms? Still feeling the burn. The heartburn. Still hard to put socks on. I had Chris help me put my shoes on a couple times this week.Gender Prediction? I’m like 60/40 boy. Chris still thinks girl.Belly Button in or out? Still flat and stretched out.Wedding rings on or off? On, though my knuckles are feeling slightly swollen.Mood? Anticipatory…and a little nervous that I’m going to have to be induced.Looking forward to? I’m looking forward to going into labor in the next few days. If I don’t, my midwife wants to induce me on Friday. I’m totally down with a Friday the 13th birthday, but I really, really do not want to be induced. This feeling has finally begun to outweigh my nerves about the actual labor and deliver and how it’s going to feel physically. I know the only way out of this is to make it through that at this point, so it’s just going to have to happen.

I’m also looking forward to every single person I know no longer starting every conversation we have with asking how I’m feeling. I want to give them a good answer, but I really don’t know how to answer that question. I’m feeling the same as I’ve been feeling. Normalish. I feel like that’s basically a guise for asking if I’m in labor, or if we’re not face to face, if I’ve had the baby yet. People, I promise I will tell you when I’ve had the baby. And I’m feeling like I’m 41 weeks pregnant. I don’t want to eat and it’s hard to put on my shoes. That, however, isn’t a very interesting answer and makes for awkward conversation, so I’m feeling fine.Now some words from Dad: 41 weeks, y’all! Melissa and I were joking earlier this week that Mini Mitch must know how cold it’s been in Chicago and opting to stay in his or her warm world for the time being. As a matter of FACT, I have finally been able to put my head up to Melissa’s belly and hear the baby’s heartbeat. Which is pretty amazing – I’ll definitely remember it. All in all, I think we’re both still feeling pretty good at 41+ weeks. In my opinion, the only thing I’m not 1000% looking forward to is the hospital stay. I’m looking forward to Melissa having the baby, then being back home and having our new chapter of home life begin. Since Melissa will be induced Friday if Mini Mitch is still in hiding, this past weekend we had a bunch of lasts, like our last “Saturday night to go crazy!” and “opportunity for Sunday brunch without a baby present.” We took FULL ADVANTAGE, by staying in Saturday night and me making my typical Sunday breakfast of late, breakfast sandwiches. Maybe we will look back and wish we did something? I’m not sure. I think our lack of activity is simply another display of how ready we both are for this next chapter in our lives. Since this is the last time I’ll post pre-birth, I just want to say thanks to everyone who came to our blog and read our words for the past 9 months! It’s been great to have an outlet and share our news along the way, and we appreciate you being a part of this moment with us!

Happy New Year! Today is my official due date, which is pretty nuts! Still no signs of labor though. Actually, every ultrasound I’ve had, starting back at the very first one, I have measured 5 days behind, so all along I’ve thought my due date really should be January 5th rather than the first. We’ll see what happens. Any day and, unfortunately, anyone else’s guess is just as good as mine. I have no inside information. Everyone keeps asking how I’m feeling. I’m feeling the same as I have been. A little more discomfort than a few weeks ago, but nothing crazy and mostly at night.

This week I was off of work and it was a pretty low key week. We cleaned some, tried to get life a little more organized, prepared a bit for the upcoming year like I do every year. I put together a bullet journal, which I think will be a great combination for me of a planner and a place to keep track of all the things for Mini Mitch that we want/need to track like sleep, feedings, diapers, stats (height, weight, head circumference, etc), vaccination schedule, and anything else I’ll need to keep track of that I may not be thinking of. I’m really excited about it. A bullet journal is a bit more work than a store bought journal, but it’s completely customizable and I think it will be really functional. I can always make changes to it and make it anything I need it to be as time goes by.

How far along? 40 WeeksTotal weight gain/loss? +28.2 lbs; I’ve really been packing on the pounds the last couple of weeks. Probably because I’ve been sitting around the apartment, not walking to and from work, not going to the gym, and eating whatever sounds good (ice cream and sugary cereal anyone??).Maternity clothes? Yup…and they’re starting to get tight!Stretch marks? Same. Still none that I can see, but nervous about how my stomach is going to look once it deflates!Sleep? Still waking up pretty consistently between 4:30 and 5:30, but only once a night. Could be so much worse.Best moment this week? Like I said, it was a pretty low key week. I was able to enjoy lunch with a friend on Thursday and then a prenatal yoga class and lunch with another friend on Friday. Last night we had our neighbors over for dinner and a super-low-key-didn’t-even-last-until-midnight New Years Eve. I’m really just enjoying these last days as a couple without the kinds of responsibilities and compromises that I know are going to come with this baby.Miss Anything? Sleeping on my back. Oh how I can’t wait to sleep on my back. So much sleeping on my back.Movement? Not moving as much as it used to, but still moving consistently. I hear it’s pretty tight in there, so the movements are much more subdued and subtle.Food cravings? I’m craving absolutely nothing. The last few days, the idea of eating (mostly in the evening) has made me a little nauseous.Anything making you nauseous? See above. Apparently the idea of eating dinner. I just have no more space. The inn is full.Symptoms? This is consistent with last week – nothing new. Still having heartburn, still having a burning feeling in between my top two abs (mostly in the evening) that is likely from my ab muscles separating…and is normal, according to my midwife. Still having Braxton Hicks. Lots of groaning when getting up or sitting down. Putting socks and shoes on is really hard…mostly because of the bending down. Being pregnant in the summer and being able to slip flip flops on must be nice.Gender Prediction? I still have no idea. People are still really split. Like I said last week, I just hope it’s definitively a boy or a girl.Belly Button in or out? Same. Flat and stretched out looking.Wedding rings on or off? Still on.Mood? Patient. And organizey.Looking forward to? Just looking forward to meeting Mini Mitch, whenever that time comes. I’m also looking forward to having BOTH of my appointments over with this week. I’ve now been upgraded to TWO appointments at my midwife’s office until Mini Mitch graces us with his or her presence. One is a Non-Stress Test, an Ultrasound and an appointment with my midwife. The second is another Non-Stress Test. If I don’t have the baby before next week, I’ll have to do the same thing next week. I’ll be spending lots of time there. Just hoping everything looks good and we can hold off conversations about induction as long as possible. I’d rather the baby just be able to come when the baby is ready to come!Now some words from Dad: 2K17 BOO YA! So excited for this year :) Melissa has been holding steady, if you couldn’t tell from the above, and I’m feeling calm as a cucumber. I’m super pumped and can’t wait to be a dad – it’s going to be AWESOME. I was a little jealous of my friends who were out on New Year’s Eve, but I did have a great time hanging out with our neighbors eating yummy food. My guess for the date Mini Mitch would grace us with his or her presence was 1/2, so I’m pretty sure based on everything that has been observed I will be wrong. Melissa has “end of week,” which is pretty generic but I’m growing more confident she’ll be right on this one. As always, I’m still feeling girl on gender – but we’ll see! More than anything, I’m excited and can’t wait for our chapter as parents to begin. I’m sure it’ll be challenging, but hey if you’re not being challenged you’re not growing as a person. Also, I’m incredibly excited to share our names with people! So let’s see – fingers crossed it happens this week. If not, I’ll have a haiku for my portion of the week 41 entry :D